Hello my magickal friend! Today we’re going to talk about Lughnasadh and the theme of letting go what is no longer needed in your life. 

Lughnasadh is the first of the pagan harvest holidays. This is the time of year where the fruits of our labors start coming to fruition. But in order to reap those rewards, we must first let go of what doesn’t serve our highest and best selves. 

Today we are going to look at how to let go in order to make room for better things to come. This, however, doesn’t mean you have to throw everything away to get what you want. It’s just about taking a look at your life and doing a bit of cleaning up. 

Taking Stock

Lughnasadh is a good time to take stock of the things in your life. What do you have that you no longer need? Is there room for improvement? Are there habits that you’ve kept just because that’s what you’ve always done?

These are the kinds of questions you should ask yourself if you’re ready to make some changes in your life to move towards being your best self. This is the same process you would use if you were cleaning out your living space. What do you keep? What do you get rid of? Does it still serve a purpose?

Take stock of what you are doing right now in your life. Make a list and write down all of your current circumstances. What is your living situation? How about your relationship status? Are you working? What do your finances look like? 

From there, decide what you like and what you’d like to change. Then comes the hard part, letting go. 

Shedding the unimportant

Lughnasadh is a great time of year for getting rid of bad habits and things that are no longer important to you. You can think of it like a fruit tree dropping its fruit after they have finished growing. The tree no longer needs to provide sustenance for those fruits, so they get shed. 

You can also think of it like a snake shedding its skin (blech!). In order for the snake to grow, it has to shed the skin it has grown out of. One thing to note is that the snake doesn’t lament over its lost skin. It’s just a part of the growing process. 

Paring down

Sometimes the shedding process is about paring down, where we start winnowing away what is not needed. It’s more about bringing things into focus, instead of throwing stuff away. This is like clearing the clutter. 

Paring down helps you organize your thoughts or your space. This is the process of going through and creating a place for everything, whether in your mind or in your home. The process of paring down may involve letting things go or getting rid of things you no longer need, but it’s more for the organization of your things so it’s easier to go through and see what you want to keep and what you want to let go of. 

Letting go

And sometimes it is about letting go. When we truly see that something is not bringing value to our lives, that’s when it’s time to let it go. This is one of the most difficult things to do, in my opinion. I personally struggle with this on a regular basis. 

There are a lot of emotions tied up in the things we have in our lives. It’s really hard to let go of things, patterns, beliefs, or ideas we’ve had for so long, but that are no longer serving us. Even though we know that they are not good for us, it’s still so damn hard to let them go. 

This is also true for people in our lives. There are some people that are just not good for us, but we can’t seem to let them go. I have found this especially true for romantic relationships. If the relationship is no longer helping you grow, it might be time to reevaluate your situation. Please do not take this to mean you should get up and leave your relationship because you’re not happy at the moment. All I’m suggesting is that you take some time to intentionally process whether or not the relationship is contributing to you living your best life. 

When you’re in the process of letting go, you are going to feel really uncomfortable. This is because it’s new and different and something that you’ve never experienced before. First you have to experience the discomfort, then you will be prepared for whatever comes next. But you won’t get to the new place without feeling that squirmy, not-so-great-feeling, uncomfortable feeling.  

Creating room

Once you get through the discomfort of letting go and changing, then you are ready for new things to come in. By getting rid of things that no longer serve us, we create room for better experiences and situations. 

You want to be intentional about the room you’re creating in your life. You don’t want to just fill up the space you created with more clutter, you want each thing you bring into your life to have purpose. Like I’ve said before, it’s about what helps you grow and be your best self. 

Holding space

You also don’t have to fill up the space you’ve created right away. Sometimes, it’s about holding space for something better to come in. For example, if you end a relationship, sometimes it’s a good idea to be by yourself for a little while to allow yourself to heal, rather than jumping into another relationship and creating the same patterns. 

Often, it takes some time for the things we want to manifest to show up in our lives. Holding space intentionally helps to let the Universe know that you’re ready to receive what comes in for your highest and best purpose. 

Showing the Universe you’re open to receiving

You need to show the Universe that you’re ready to receive what it’s giving you. The best way to do that is making yourself open for things that better serve you to be brought into your life. 

How do you make yourself open? You need to go through that letting go process and then hold that space for something better to come in, like we previously talked about. There is also another part of this process of being open and that’s your mindset. 

A good way to show the Universe that you’re open to receiving is by changing your mindset to one of gratitude. Gratitude goes a long way to easing the process of letting go. 

Having a willingness to change

Changing your mindset is difficult if you’re used to a certain way of thinking. It can be hard to be grateful for a bad situation, even if it’s for a good reason. But having gratitude is one of the most important things to remember when trying to let things go. 

Having gratitude while getting rid of what no longer serves you is a great way to demonstrate your willingness to change, especially if it’s for the betterment of yourself and those around you. When you change to align with your higher purpose, this sends a signal out to the Universe that you’re ready to accept what’s coming. 

Accepting the new

With the willingness to change must come the ability to accept your new reality. It’s terrifying, letting go of something familiar, good or bad, for something unknown. However, if you’re truly ready to change and move forward, you have to accept what comes in. 

We all have to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good, but it’s worth it to get to the new place that better aligns with the person you want to become. But we have to be willing to let go, then the new things can come to us. From there, we can take the next steps in our journey. 

Below is a quick spell for helping the process of letting go using the energy of Lughnasadh. I hope you find it helpful. 

Lughnasadh Spell for Letting Go

Materials needed:

• Blue candle
• Black candle
• A feather
• Matches/lighter 

Place the blue candle on your left and the black one on your right. Hold the feather in your right hand. Light the black candle. Picture in your mind what you wish to let go. Once you have the image fixed in your mind, say:

Leave me now, let me be

I release you from my mind

Into this flame, I set you free

I leave you now behind

Send the image into the feather, feeling the release of energy in your body. You may feel a bit hollow at this moment. Then light the blue candle and say:

Universe I’m open now

Ready to accept the new

It matters not the when or how

My faith I place in you

By the power of three times three

As i will it, so mote it be

Feel the Universe’s energy filling you up, wherever you feel empty or hollow. Sit for a moment until you feel full. Once you feel more energized, take the feather outside and release it into the wind along with whatever you are letting go. Snuff out the candles. Feel free to repeat this spell whenever you find something you wish to let go. 

Until next time my magickal friend, be well and choose joy! Blessed be!